Last week, it was reported that German shoe and apparel maker Adidas offered the whopping amount of $ 200 million for a 13 year deal (likely spanning his whole career) to James Harden.
Nike would be no stranger to this threat as they just fended off a $ 300 million offer to Kevin Durant from Under Armour. Most observers thought the same conclusion would be reached and this would not be a major issue.
However, reports have sprung that Nike has refused to match the deal. From TMZ, they cite that Harden has Adidas ties with Houston Rockets teammate Dwight Howard, rumored girlfriend Khloe Kardashian and Kanye West, Khloe's brother in law.
This would make Harden the top endorser for the brand. He's currently their hottest property (once he signs the deal) over other talents like Derrick Rose, Damian Lillard and John Wall.
Of course, this is simply a business decision and no one would say Harden wasn't loyal to Nike. But Kicks on Fire argues that Harden could actually have an issue with Nike.
Currently, Nike has three players who have their own signature line (not counting the Jordan brand endorsers). These are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. With Westbrook getting his own signature shoe with Jordan Brand and Stephen Curry with Under Armour, James Harden seems like a shoo-in to be part of that elite group considering his MVP performance.
The Beard's sneaker history according to Kicks on Fire:
"For years, Harden has been the model Nike athlete. He started out as just one of the guys playing alongside fellow Nike teammates Kevin Durant and Westbrook in OKC. KD had his own signature shoe while Westbrook and Harden were becoming the face of the Hyperfuse and Hyperdunk, respectively. "
"When Harden was traded to Houston, he stepped out from the shadows of his superstar teammates and became one in his own right. But as KD added to his signature shoe count and Westbrook became the man who would represent the Air Jordan, Harden was still on the second tier, wearing the Nike Zoom Crusader, the Hyperchase and many others. But he kept on playing and getting better and garnering more notoriety. Surely a beard-themed signature shoe was on the way, right? No so fast..."
This is where the twist comes in: "The world was introduced to the Nike Kyrie 1 a few months ago. Despite never having played for a winning club and struggling through injuries, Kyrie Irving got a signature shoe over Harden."
It might not be the issue that brought Harden to Adidas, but it is a valid argument. Harden may have been overlooked, and Nike may have realized it too late.